A portable three-minute brainwave test can detect signs of Alzheimer’s disease years before patients would usually get a clinical diagnosis, a study found. The Fastball EEG records electrical activity in the brain while participants view a stream of images.
Researchers say it could be used in GP surgeries, memory clinics, or at home to help improve early diagnosis rates. Study leader Dr George Stothart, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Bath, said: “We’re missing the first 10 to 20 years of Alzheimer’s with current diagnostic tools. Fastball offers a way to change that — detecting memory decline far earlier and more objectively, using a quick and passive test.”
The test was evaluated in a study involving 53 people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI, often a precursor to dementia) and 54 healthy older adults.
Early memory issues were detected in people with MCI, with reduced memory responses seen in patients who later progressed to dementia.
The study also demonstrated for the first time that the test can be administered in people’s homes.
Dr Stothart added: “There’s an urgent need for accurate, practical tools to diagnose Alzheimer’s at scale. Fastball is cheap, portable, and works in real-world settings.”
Chris Williams, chief executive of the charity BRACE Dementia Research, which helped fund the research, said: “Fastball is an incredible tool that could offer anyone who, for whatever reason, cannot access a dementia diagnosis in a clinical setting.
“We are excited to see what Dr Stothart’s team will achieve over the next few years with ongoing support from the charity.”
Professor Sir John Hardy, an expert in neuroscience at the UK Dementia Research Institute, UCL, who was not involved in the research, noted that the test could not distinguish Alzheimer’s from other causes of decline.
He added: “It is likely that additional tests, biomarker or imaging, would also be needed for this second important aim.”